In the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

(cannabis) is legal for

recreational use Recreational drug use indicates the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime by modifying the perceptions and emotions of the user. When a ...

. It was originally prohibited in 1913. Possession of small amounts of the drug was decriminalized in 1976 under state legislation passed the previous year. The state's first

medical cannabis Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions ...

law was passed in 1999, allowing patients to grow their own plants. The

cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

and South Portland decriminalized the possession and recreational use of marijuana in 2013 and 2014, respectively. In 2016, a

ballot initiative In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a pu ...

, Question 1, proposed the statewide legalization of marijuana use and sale. With all precincts reporting, the results showed a "Yes" vote passing by less than 1 percentage point. However, opponents of the measure sought a

recount An election recount is a repeat tabulation of votes cast in an election that is used to determine the correctness of an initial count. Recounts will often take place if the initial vote tally during an election is extremely close. Election reco ...

. Opponents of the measure conceded their effort on December 17, after the recount showed no change in the outcome and that the legalization of cannabis in Maine would go forward.

History

Prohibition (1913)

As part of a larger trend of restricting marijuana in the early 20th century, Maine banned the drug in 1913; Massachusetts having been the first to ban sale without a prescription, in 1911.

Decriminalization (1976)

In 1976, Maine decriminalized possession of small amounts of cannabis (following 1975 legislation), becoming the third state to do so.

Medical marijuana (1999)

On November 2, 1999, Maine legalized medical marijuana when 62% of the populace voted yes on Question 2.

Decriminalization (2009)

On May 1, 2009, Maine decriminalized marijuana when Governor

John Baldacci John Elias Baldacci (born January 30, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 73rd Governor of Maine from 2003 to 2011. A Democrat, he also served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003. During hi ...

signed legislation (LD 250) which made possession of or less a civil infraction.

Municipal legalization (2013–2014)

On November 5, 2013, voters in Portland passed Question 1 by 67% which legalized the possession of within the city's limits. The separate municipality of South Portland voted to legalize marijuana in November 2014, succeeding with 6,326 to 5,755 in favor. During the same election, the city of Lewiston voted down legalization, 7,366 to 6,044 against.

Legalization (2016)

The Marijuana Legalization Act, which was to take effect within 40 days of November 8, 2016 permits adults who are not participating in the state's medical cannabis program to legally grow and to possess personal use quantities of cannabis while also licensing commercial cannabis production and retail sales. The law imposes a 10 percent tax on commercial marijuana sales. Under the law, localities have the authority to regulate, limit, or prohibit the operation of marijuana businesses. Onsite consumption is permitted under the law in establishments licensed for such activity. Retail sales were set to begin in February 2018, in order to allow agencies to form regulations for the new industry. In November 2017, Governor LePage vetoed a bill to tax and regulate recreational cannabis sales, citing conflicts with federal law. LePage's veto was overturned by the state legislature on May 2, 2018, allowing the bill to become law. Sales were projected to begin in spring of 2020, though the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

pandemic delayed the timeline. After Maine citizens voted to legalize recreational cannabis in November 2016, Maine dispensaries were allowed to sell recreational cannabis products starting October 9, 2020. That year, Maine recorded over $111 million in medical marijuana sales. Currently adult use marijuana sales are taxed at 10 percent.

References

{{Cannabis in the United States